Tagalong
by Caveat Lector 52
Summary: She wasn't supposed to come with them, but she did anyway. She wasn't supposed to get caught up in this mess, but now she's involved and there's no going back. Ed and Al return from Resembool with an unlikely companion. All warnings inside. Discontinued. Now adopted by Aqua Amethyst Angel.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: Welcome everyone, and thanks for giving my new fanfiction a try. I've been on a pretty long hiatus, so it feels good to be on the writer's bandwagon again. A few things to get out of the way before we start:

Thanks to my wonderful beta-reader: theretard5892.

Fullmetal Alchemist and all related works are the property of Hiromu Arakawa; I'm simply borrowing them for awhile.

The OC, Tammi Elric,_ is_ mine, and may not be used without my permission.

This fic is manga basis, starting just before chapter 9 and following through all the way to chapter 108. That been said, there will be **massive spoilers**, so tread with caution if you detest that sort of thing. Also warnings for swearing, violence, and fluff (not necessarily in that order).

"This is someone talking."

'_This is someone thinking.'_

And this is me shutting up so we can get on with the story! (I promise the next A/Ns won't be so long, unless I have something important to share).

**(*.*)**

The harsh shrill of the train whistle jolted Edward out of his sleep.

Out the window a picture perfect countryside flashed by; different hues of green, blue and brown mixing into one indescribable color. A man's deep voice over the intercom announced that they'd be arriving at their destination, Resembool, in twenty minutes.

Ed smiled. _'Home again.'_

"Have a nice nap, brother?"

Ed turned to the speaker, his brother Alphonse. The large suit of armor barely fit in the seat across from him, but Al didn't mind. Neither one had to say it: they were excited to be going home after four long years.

"Uh-huh," the blond stretched, reaching his left arm up as far as it would go. His right arm was gone; lost after a run in with the dangerous state alchemist hunter Scar. Ed frowned at the memory. He'd been so close to dying; closer than he'd been in a long time. If Colonel Mustang and crew arrived one _second_ later . . . well, he didn't want to think about it.

He was distracted from these rather dark thoughts by the grunt of his second traveling companion. Major Armstrong sat to Ed's right with his arms folded over his massive chest. To the untrained eye he appeared to be sleeping, but the Strong Arm Alchemist was merely observing their soundings with quiet, experienced eyes. Now he stood up, stretching just as Edward had done, and said "I'm going to talk to the conductor; I'll be back soon."

Ed and Al nodded, happy that the man hadn't ripped off his shirt again. It wasn't long before they were both staring out the windows, hardly containing their anticipation. Rolling hills-looking more like a water color painting than actually land-triggered something in Ed's memories.

"Do you remember that time we made are own sled?"

Alphonse thought for a minute before chuckling. "You mean the one out of the fallen tree? Yeah, I remember! Winry wouldn't go on it because she thought it was gonna break of something."

Ed gave a mock frown. "She never did have much faith in our abilities."

"You mean_ your_ abilities."

"Watch it," Ed growled, though the effect was more playful than threatening. Remembering that happy snow-filled day gave him a funny little ache in his chest: neither painful nor pleasant. He liked thinking about those happy, carefree days; back when he could still see himself as nothing but innocent. And yet it hurt, knowing he'd never be able to go back-no matter how hard he or Al or anyone else tried.

Maybe Alphonse felt it too, because his next words were much more somber and voiced something Ed had been thinking for awhile.

"Brother, do you thing she's alright?"

"Sure she is," Ed answered immediately, not bothering to ask who_ she_ was. "Winry and Granny are with her."

"Yeah, you're right. But . . ." Al gave a literal breathless sigh. "But I miss her; it's been so long, and she was just a little kid. . ."

"You weren't that old yourself," an undertone of regret had entered his voice. All of them had been far too young to go through what they did; and too young to be going through it now.

They lapsed into silence, each lost in his own thoughts, and nobody said anything else until the whistle rang for the second time signaling their arrival at the Resembool station.

Edward and Alphonse Elric were home.

**(*.*)**

_Swish- tap, swish- tap, swish-tap. _

The rope rose and fell in a steady rhythm. Up, _swish_, down, _tap_. Over and over again, the only sound to be heard in that lonely little filed. The only sound, that is, until the girl holding the rope started chanting.

"Miss Mary Mack, Mack, Mack. All dressed in black, black, black. With sliver buttons, buttons, buttons. All down her back, back, back," The rope now rose and fell in time to the song; the words, swishes, and taps intertwining until it was nothing more than one hypnotic beat.

"She asked her mother, mother, moth-darn!" Her foot caught and she tumbled to the dirt. A sharp pain in her right knee caused tears to pool in the corners of her eyes. Blinking the unwanted water away, she pushed herself up and inspected the damage.

_'Crap.'_

Just as she thought: the right knee had a huge tear in it, the once pristine red and white candy striped fabric now brown and dusty. If you looked closely, you could see little beads of blood starting to well up.

_'Double crap!'_

With a self-pitying sort of sigh, she turned to the small pen on her left. Inside the pen was a bunny. His all black body was a sharp contrast to the snow-white whiskers for which he was named. He sniffed and hopped all around, nibbling on the sweet, tender new grass as he went.

"You, Mr. Whiskers, were very lucky to be born a bunny."

His wiggled his little black nose as if to say "_go on."_

Picking him up, the girl cuddled him to her chest. "Bunnies never ruin their favorite pair of tights, do they?"

Velvet soft ears twitched._ 'Of course we don't, silly Tammi. Why would a bunny wear tights?'_

Laughing a little Tammi started walking in the direction of the closest house, deciding to leave the jump rope and pen where they were for the time being. She had to be quick. If Granny Pinako found out she ripped _another_ pair of stockings . . . well, as the saying goes: there'd be hell to pay.

Getting into the house was easy; even now, when late summer was giving away to a crisp fall, the back door was left open. Now, she just had to make it to the stairs and-

"Hold it right there, young lady!"

Wincing, Tammi turned to see a very irate Pinako Rockbell. For a short old woman, she could be surprisingly scary.

"Yes ma'am?" Tammi asked, opting to play innocent.

Pinako wasn't falling for it. "Don't 'yes ma'am' me. What happened to your stockings? If I've told you once, I've told you thousand times: don't wear them when you're playing outside, you only have three pairs left."

Clutching Whiskers closer to her breast, Tammi chewed her lower lip in an effort to still the rapidly growing number of tears leaking from her eyelashes.

After one finial rebuking remark, Granny told her to get up stairs and wash up; lunch would be ready in a half an hour. Taking her cue to leave, Tammi dashed to her room; all the while berating herself for losing control like that. _'You're too old to be crying like that, it was just a scolding. She didn't even yell, you crybaby.' _

She was so busy telling herself off that she didn't notice how tight her hold was getting until Whiskers gave an alarmed squeak.

"Oh! I'm sorry, baby." Placed in his cage, the rabbit gave his owner an indigent sniff-letting her know she was in distaste- before settling down for his mid-afternoon 'bunny nap.'

A small, humorless smile graced her lips. _'Now you're mad at me too, huh?" _

On the back wall of the room was a dressing table, the kind with a mirror attached to the back. Tammi caught a glimpse of her reflection and grimaced.

Wind-swept short brown hair framed a face covered in blotchy red patches, a dripping nose, and puffy gray-green eyes. She looked, in short, like someone who'd been crying. She pulled a brush through her hair until it was decent again; taking out some of her frustration in the process. Once that was done-and the snot stopped trickling out of her nose-she looked, and felt, much better. So better, in fact, that she aloud a pointless thought to take root.

_'I could use alchemy to fix them.'_

The rational side of her brain told her that would be a stupid thing to do. She told _it_ to shut the hell up.

Before she could so much as grab a pen, Den, Winry's dog, started barking up a storm. Coming up the lane was the strangest party she'd ever seen.

On the right was a figure that could only be described as a giant carrying a crate on his shoulder. He towered over his companion, a man with blond hair and a red coat-

Her heart stopped. For just a split second her heart actually stopped beating, than started again in a series of painful thumps against her ribcage. She knew that man with the blond hair and offensive red coat; knew him the way she knew her own name.

Tammi's feet moved on there own, taking her down the stairs, out the door, gaining speed until she was charging down the path. Breathing in short pants, she barely manage to get the name out before barreling into one of the people she'd waited so long to see again.

"Edward!"

**(*.*)**

Alex Louis Armstrong watched, thoroughly confused, as a bright colored blur shot out the front door and almost _flew_ down the path, crashing into Major Elric's chest gasping and then downright sobbing his name.

"Edward! Edward, oh Ed! I can't…what are you _doing_ here? Where's Al?"

She-for now, up close, Alex could see it was a girl-gave up trying to talk and just hugged Ed around the waist; her whole body trembling. The entire scene was . . . odd, to say nothing else. But what was even _weirder_ was the way Ed responded. He knelt down until he was eye level with the little girl, and gave her a fierce hug back. "It's great to see you too, Tammi-bear."

"Don't call me that," came the muffled reply from somewhere in the folds of the blonds' coat. Tammi pulled back a little, "Where_ is_ Alphonse?" she repeated, looking around.

"Hi, Tammi," The voice, definitely Al's, but with a hollow undertone, came from the crate the giant had propped on his shoulder. If she stood on her tip-toes, the brunette could just see the armor head. "How've you been?"

"Fine," Tammi suddenly got very quiet. She'd just noticed the hulking stranger was _staring_ at her. He didn't look mean, more curious than anything else, but it still made her feel uneasy (especially after she'd been sobbing her eyes out).

Maybe he felt her discomfort, because Ed stood up with a little embarrassed cough of his own, and made the formal interdictions.

"Tammi, this is Major Armstrong. He came with us from Central." She gave the man a small smile; and was glad when she got one back.

"Major," Edward continued. "This is Tammi-bear (here, Tammi glared at him, which he ignored) our baby sister."

Armstrong very nearly dropped Alphonse at this. Sister! The Elric boys have a sister! He'd never heard of her before. It wasn't in any of the official reports he'd read about them. Nor had anyone else said anything, unless they didn't know. . . .

The little girl latched on to Fullmetal's arm, pulling him toward the house while she babbled non-stop about this or that, head swinging back and forth between her brothers. It was like she couldn't believe they were there, and had to keep checking.

"She's our cousin," Al said softly, his head right next to the other's ear.

"I thought she was your sister?"

"She basically is, but, biologically, Tammi's our cousin. Her parents died in a car crash when she was a baby, so Mother adopted her."

Tammi and Ed reached the house before they did, where Granny was waiting, pipe in hand. While Edward greeted her, he was suddenly assaulted with a wrench thrown by a pretty girl with blonde hair, blue eyes, and deadly aim.

"What the hell, Winry! Are you trying to kill me, you jackass?"

Tammi let go of her brother and bounded over to Armstrong, who was just setting Al's crate down. (And with relief too; that thing was getting heavy!)

"Hiya Al, what's-"she stopped cold. The armor which housed the boy's soul was trashed. Broken into little chunks and pieces, you could even see the seal that held him to this earth. And, now that the initial shock was over, she could see the limp sleeve on Ed's coat where his right arm _should_ be. It was gone. Gone, just like that night four year ago when. . . .

She had to grab the side of the box to keep steady. Her stomach was doing flip-flops, and her teeth were chattering so much it was hard to get the words out.

"What…what happened to you, Al?"

Tammi was so focused on_ not_ falling down and _not_ throwing up, that she completely missed the look Edward shot his brother. Everybody else saw it, and understood what it meant immediately.

"Nothing, Tammi," Al lied through his nonexistent teeth. "Just an accident." He and Ed had gotten so good at lying over the past few year that it-quite frankly-scared him a little.

The silence that followed was nothing but awkward; until Pinako took a long drag on her pipe and blew an impressive smoke ring. "Well, what're we just standing here for? Come inside, we need you get you measured." The last bit was said directly to Ed; combined with her _own _look that clearly said: 'you've got a lot of explaining to do.' Ed inwardly winced. He remembered that one well from his childhood.

Once inside, Ed surged his coat off, revealing the empty port attached to his right shoulder. Poor Winry was in a near state of despair, seeing almost all of her hard work in shambles. Pinako just sighed, and quickly wrote down a list of supplies she knew they were going to need. She gave it to Tammi, telling the child to run to the hardware store in town.

"But they just got here!" Tammi protested hotly.

"And they'll still_ be_ here when you get back. Now go, the sooner you leave-"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know." With a huff, she took the list and headed out in a full sprint, looking back only once. She was well out of earshot when Winry turned to Ed and Al with raised eyebrows.

"So, just what have you two been up too?"

It didn't take long to fill them in on the important details, namely: Scar, Dr. Marcoh, and his note about the Philosopher's stone. All the while, the Rockbell women moved around Ed, taking measurements and such, with time honored ease. By the time Tammi ran trough the front down, red faced and bag in hand, Granny was giving Ed the non-automail leg he'd have to use for the next few days.

**(*.*)**

Cramming four years lost time into a mere three day was hard, but the Elric siblings sure as hell tried. Mostly it involved talking; lots and lots of talking. Tammi filled the boys in on the all the town news and gossip, along with whatever happened the last school year, and, of course, her track meets were re-told with relish. The one thing she didn't want them to know (but which they found out anyway) was how she got the scar that ran just above her left eyebrow. It was embarrassing to know you fell out of a tree when you were eight just because a bird scared you; and even worse to have your fearless older brothers find out from a snickering Winry. But in the end, they didn't tease her _too_ much.

They told her somewhat abridged versions' of their own adventurers; and even a little bit about the friends they'd made. Unfortunately, it was Edward who told her about Mustang. By the time he was done venting, Tammi saw the Flame Alchemist as nothing but a lazy, womanizing jerk who picked on her beloved older brother for no reason at all!

The third morning, Tammi came outside to find Al sitting alone by the side of the house. She plopped down right next to him, and leaned ageist his good side. The sun was just beginning to warm the armor up.

"Where's Ed?" she asked, plucking a few blades of grass out of the ground.

"He went to visit mom." You could hear a tiny bit of longing in his voice.

"You should go visit Momma too, once you're fi—_feeling _better. She finished lamely. She'd almost said 'once you're fixed,' but it felt incredibly rude to talk about her brother like he was a broken down car.

Alphonse sighed. "I don't think there'll be time. Granny and Winry are gonna re-attach brothers automail today, and we want to catch the train to Central first thing tomorrow morning."

"You're leaving already?" the brunette could hardly believe it; three days had passed like three seconds! "When do you think you'll come back?" _'For good,'_ she added to herself.

Al made a humming noise. "I don't know. We're going to the Central Library to-"

"Look for clues about the Philosopher's stone," Tammi interrupted. "I saw the note that Doctor guy gave you. Something about looking for 'the truth behind the truth,' right? What the hell does that even mean? Sounds like complete bullshit to me." she tore up a big clump of grass and tossed it into the wind.

If he'd had a mouth, Al would've smiled. Not even a week, and his baby sister was already picking up Ed's less then desirable language habits.

"We don't know what it means, but we're hoping to find Dr. Marcoh's research notes in the library."

Tammi nodded. She'd heard you could find anything in that place, if only you knew where to look. It'd been something of a goal of hers to go there one day, and now the brothers would be heading to that very place. Tomorrow. Without her.

The yard suddenly felt stifling, and Tammi couldn't stand it any longer. She jumped up, stretched, and said, "I'm gonna go for a quick run. Coach'll be mad if I'm out of shape when season starts." Moving to the door, she paused and glanced over her shoulder. "Can we play chess when I get back?" The question was kind of hesitant; like she wasn't sure Al would even _be_ there when she got back. But he said yes, and that made she feel a teeny bit better.

But not much.

**(*.*)**

When Tammi Elric needed to think she ran; that's just the way things were. And right now she had a lot to think about.

She came out the back door dressed in her old track uniform: red shorts with a thick white band down each side, a sports bra (the only kind she owned) and a white tank-top with "Elric" and the number "5" printed on the back in big red letters. A pair of worn in running shoes and bright green knee socks that clashed with everything else completed the outfit.

After a brief warm up, she took off at a steady pace, waving to Armstrong as she passed. From the looks of it, the man was chopping up a small mountain of firewood.

She knew all the paths in and around the village, so her mind was free to wander. Normally, this was how she dealt with problems with friends or school; but now Tammi was doubtful this dilemma could be solved merely by pushing her body to its limit.

By this time tomorrow, Edward and Alphonse would be gone. They'd be on some train with Major Armstrong, heading off to the great unknown. Again. Without her.

She didn't want them to leave, damn it! She wanted things to go back to the way they were, when they'd take her everywhere and tell her everything. But that, of course, was a pipe dream. They needed to go; needed to make up for their past crime.

Without realizing it, she'd made it to the top of a fairly high hill. Behind and below, looking as perfect as it always did, was Resembool. She thought it was beautiful . . . and totally confining.

Tammi stayed like that for a long time. Long enough for morning to give way to early afternoon. Edward must be back by now. Maybe even getting his limbs put back on-and then she knew what she was going to do. Ever so slowly she got up and made her way back home, this time at a brisk jog.

Tammi Alice Elric knew exactly what she was gonna do, and it was stupid, and it was crazy, and it had a less then one percent chance of working, and she needed to do it right _now _before that annoying voice in her head told her all this.

She made it back just in time to see Ed and Al flip Armstrong on his back, whooping and cheering all the while. Ordinarily, she would've joined in, but she was on a mission; and come hell or high water, that girl was going to see it through.

Marching right up to Edward and Alphonse, Tammi looked them straight in the eyes.

"I wanna come with you."

**(*.*)**

He was afraid this would happen. It had been a concern growing on his mind ever since they came back.

Edward couldn't meet Tammi's eyes as she waited for a response. It would just make this harder.

"That's not a good idea right now, Tammi-bear."

"Why not?"

Ed resisted the urge to curse. Of course his sister couldn't just take what he said at face-value; she was as inquisitive as she was chatty!

Silently, he tried to send Al a _'help me out here, will you'_ message, but noticed his brother had become very, very interested in the clouds passing by.

_'Oh great,'_ he thought dryly. _'Now I've gotta be the bad cop! Thanks a lot, Al.'_

"We're going to be really busy." It sounded lame even to him.

"I won't get in the way, I promise." An edge of pleading had entered in to her voice, and it just made things worse.

"Tammi, I said you can't come," he said with as much authority he could muster; hoping the lack of pet-name would convey how serious he was.

"But—" Her voice cracked, and Ed didn't have to look to know that her eyes—that same color as choppy seas—were filling with tears. Tears he'd caused god_damn_ it! He hated it when she cried, simply hated it. Being the oldest out of them all (them being him, Al, Winry, and Tammi) he felt responsible for their happiness. If someone was crying, it meant he wasn't doing his job.

But it was also his job to keep them safe, and taking his baby sister to Central when he knew there was an extremely dangerous serial killer was on the loose, on the loose and _specifically_ after him, would be the stupidest thing he'd ever done in a long line of stupid things.

With these thoughts strengthen his resolve, Ed found the courage to meet Tammi's eyes . . . and immediately wished he hadn't.

She was crying, just like he'd thought, but it was the _look_ that made his heart twist painfully. It was the same look his mother would get when she'd stair out the window, thinking him and Al weren't watching. A sort of far off longing, hope, confusion, love, and a million other emotions Ed couldn't even begin to identify.

"Edward. . ."

_("Hohenheim. . .") _

"Please let me come."

_("Please come back.")_

_'I am not like him!' _

"Alright, you can come. But only for a week, the-_oomph_" he was cut off by Tammi throwing her arms around his middle in a bone crushing hug. She was practically bouncing with joy.

"Oh, thank you, Ed, thank you! I promise I'll be good and do what ever you tell me!"

"A week," he clarified when the girl let go. "One week, and that's it."

On sheer impulse, she hugged Al's huge metal body as well, and then ran into the house to pack. Ed and Al didn't know it, but at the moment they were both having the exact same thought: What the hell had he just done?

**(*.*)**

A review or two would be nice; constructive criticism will be met with open arms. I'm almost done with chapter two, so that'll be up in a few days depending on when my beta gets it.

Bye-bye for now.


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: I am so, so sorry it's taken this long! My computer crashed in Nov. so I had I rewrite a lot of thing or this story and others. Than my beta got sick, and well, life just got in the way.

But now I'm back, and I'm going to try really hard to keep regular up-dates going.

On with the show!

**(*.*)**

"I told you to leave that stupid rabbit at home!"

"Mr. Whiskers is _not_ stupid!" Tammi protested passionately, like the very idea was unthinkable.

Edward muttered something under his breath that sounded an_ awful_ lot like "fucking little hairball," but everybody else just ignored him. It was extremely early in the morning-the sun wasn't even up yet-and no one had really slept the night before either, so you could see why Ed might be a little . . . grumpy.

It had taken Tammi the whole night to pack, and even now she was sure she'd left something vitally important behind. At first, she'd done what every other eleven year old would try to do: stuff her entire wardrobe into one tan duffel bag. When it became clear that wouldn't work, she spent the next few hours sorting, stuffing, and debating until she managed to get it down to the duffel and one large sparkly, sky-blue backpack; Plus, the abovementioned "hairball's" travel carrier.

Mr. Whiskers was _not_ happy about this unexpected change in his schedule. He hunched in the very back of his carrier making little bunny noises of distress. He wouldn't let anyone, not even Tammi, touch him either. Alphonse felt for the little guy. A pet rabbit's life must be so simple that any little difference in route would cause an upset. On his part, Al was feeling quite content at the moment. As said before, it was very early in the morning and the sun as only now coming over the horizon, so it seemed like the whole world was covered in a pretty purplish haze. Best of all, the only other person standing on the wooded platform was a curly-haired old man much too interested in his newspaper to pay them any mind. No matter what he told brother, Al really didn't like it when people stared at him, even if he knew why they did it (you don't see a walking, talking suit of armor clamming to be a fourteen year old boy every day, do you?).

Edward didn't give two shits about the lovely scenery, lack of humans, or some fat guy reading yesterdays paper. He was tired as hell. All night his head and his heart had an intense battle of wills, which neither won.

He knew bringing Tammi along was a bad idea. He knew it, Al knew it, Winry knew it, Granny knew it, Armstrong knew it, and even the damn _rabbit_ knew it! And it wasn't just the whole "Scar issue." There were other, just as dangerous, if not more, that Ed was worried about. He wasn't supposed to know this, but about once a month—ever since he'd joined the military-Mustang got a formal request from one his other superiors asking (demanding) that he be transferred into their division. Ed didn't put it past anyone of them to use Tammi as a sort of bargaining chip; just so they could get the beloved "Hero of the People" on their side.

On the other hand, three days really wasn't enough time together after more than four years apart. And the chances of them being attacked again were quite slim, what with the twenty-four hour protection. And, well, look at how happy she was! Ever since Ed begrudgingly agreed to take her along, Tammi's face hadn't stopped glowing. He didn't have the heart to take that away.

So those were the arguments between logic and love; is it any wonder he didn't sleep a wink?

Flexing the new fingers of his right hand, Ed fumbled at his waist for his sliver state alchemist pocket watch. Once, Resembool's train station had been a thing of beauty. Then about eight years ago, it was attacked by an Ishvalan terrorist group, and completely destroyed along with most of the surrounding buildings.

Now, it was nothing more than a simple elevated wooded platform with a small hut that served as the office/ticket booth. Along one wall there was a chart that had once advertised arrival and departure time but now remained blank due to the fact that no one wanted to bother with it. If you wanted to catch a train, you either had to get there at the butt crack of dawn (as they had done) or just hope luck was on your side.

As it was, after checking the time, Ed knew their train was almost fifteen minutes late; which didn't improve his already sour mood.

The sooner they left the better.

Tammi had the exact same mind set as Ed for entirely different reasons. The small girl was shaking with excitement! Or maybe that was just shivering? Even with dawn approaching, it was very cold for this early in autumn. Heaving the backpack down, she rooted through the various books, pens, notebooks, and bunny treats-it was a very _large _bag-Tammi finally found what she was looking for.

It was her favorite article of clothing: a bright yellow pullover with a hood, purposefully too big, so it bunched at the elbows and fell to mid-thigh. Al had groaned the first time he saw it, "First brother, than you; I swear my siblings are color blind!"

"What's wrong with my coat?" Ed had bristled. Tammi, on the other hand, couldn't see what Al meant. _He_ was a seven foot tall suit of armor; bright colors paled next to him in terms of notability.

Feeling snug and warm, Tammi craned her neck in an attempt to see past the bend in the tracks where their train would be coming from. Unfortunately, there was a rather big group of hills in the way, so she didn't have much luck.

'_Come on,'_ she thought impatiently, tapping her toes on the ground. _'Get here already.' _

Ed might just change his mind about taking her if he thought about it too long; and Tammi did not want to miss the chance for her first trip out of Resembool.

And she was bored, which was never a good sign.

Her overly dramatic sigh was drowned out by the loud, sudden blast of a train whistle.

"Finally!" Edward exclaimed as he reached for his brown leather briefcase.

The train was truly a magnificent specimen: deep forest green, red and gold trimmings, fifteen cars long, with interiors of polished wood and gleaming brass. Raising high in the air, the smoke stack proudly spat out sparks and smog, like a magical genie escaping from its lamp.

They chose a car towards the back and, as they had it all to themselves, proceeded to spread their stuff out where ever they wanted. Ed flopped down onto one of the benches and was asleep in less than a minute, while Al, Armstrong, and Tammi got a poker game going.

It only took two stops for Tammi to realize two things: 1) she sucked at cards, and 2) the train was going to get real crowded, real fast.

Tammi bit her lip as yet another three people bored their car. It was only half past six, and already the front cars were full. An hour passed, then two and three, and with each new addition the train that had once seemed so big and grand became smaller and more confining. Finally, around noon, Tammi didn't think she could take it any longer. Her palms were sweating, and it took a great amount of effort to stop her voice from shaking.

"Hey, Ed, when'll we get there?"

Edward looked up from the book he was reading (he'd given up trying to sleep) and said, "We're supposed to get there around eleven."

"That late?"

"No, eleven in the morning."

"In the morning?" she squeaked. There was no way she could stay in this cramped airless space all night. She'd go mad. Overcome by a student urge to _get out_, to see the sun and feel the wind, Tammi leaped up and said in an overly chipper voice that she was going to the snack car at the very end of the train.

She held herself together just long enough to ask if the others wanted anything (they didn't), tell Al to keep an eye on Whiskers (she wouldn't trust anyone else with her baby), and make it to the foot and a half wide platform that separated the two cars. Then she just stood there, griping the hand rail so hard her knuckles turned white. Taking deep breaths to calm down, Tammi focused her attention on where she was, instead of where she'd have to go back to.

Even though the sun was directly overhead it was quite chilly out; with the type of gusty winds that'd steal a hat off your head of you weren't careful. To the left and right, as for as the eyes could see, the land was completely flat and covered in farming communities called "Sunny Rivers" or something equally as cheesy. Once in a while something bigger would come along; usually with a giant, ugly factory in the middle. In short, they were slowly, but steadily, moving out of the country backwaters and into more heavily populated areas.

All this had a soothing effect on her panic nerves. Releasing her fingers, Tammi was able to quietly open the door and slip into the other compartment without drawing attention to herself. Being the last passenger car, it was a bit less crowded then the one she'd just left. Of course, that didn't mean they wouldn't be a conveniently placed person for her to crash into when the train gave an unexpected lurch.

"Sorry!" she righted herself quickly, face burning with embarrassment, but the woman was apparently too busy fixing her cloak to notice.

The woman was very pretty, with a tall, curvy figure, fair skin, and rich dark hair that cascaded down her shoulders like a waterfall. For some reason, her beauty made the whole incident even worse.

Feeling stupid for dumbly standing there, Tammi gulped and chocked out: "Um, ma'am, are you all right?"

At long last, the woman looked up, causing the brunette to gulp again.

The lady's eyes were the strangest she'd ever seen: amethyst with elongated pupils, like a cat. There was something pectoral in those eyes, and Tammi had to resist the urge to step back. But then the eyes softened, and the fierceness was gone so fast Tammi wondered if it'd been there at all.

"No, I'm not hurt. Are you?" Her voice was light, and pleasant to the ears, the kind you'd expect a singer to have.

"N—no, I'm, I was just, I guess it caught me off guard," Tammi stuttered, blushing more than ever. Having to deal with strangers was hard enough; but having to deal with one when you've just fallen into their lap was downright impossible.

"Trains can be tricky things," the women laughed, like tinkling bells. Tammi couldn't tell if she was being made fun of, so she agreed, her own laughter sounding forced and hollow.

Her new acquaintance abruptly stopped laughing and scanned the child up and down. Tammi felt naked and exposed under such a gaze. Her greenish-gray eyes flickered to the other passengers, but they were all too absorbed in their own worlds to notice anything unusual going on.

"You seem a little young to be traveling by yourself," it was a casual question, but an alarm bell in Tammi's head went off. Every fiber in her been told her to end this conversation and get back to her brothers as soon as possible; but she didn't want to be rude. This woman wasn't really doing anything to warrant such a strong reaction.

'_Then why do I feel like a fly caught in a spider web?'_

"I'm with my older brothers, Edward and Alphonse _Elric_," she said, purposely emphasizing the last name.

She got the exact response she was looking for. The strangers perfectly sculpted eyebrows raised, and the feralness re-entered those feline like eyes. It gave Tammi a since of power to know she'd broken through the others mask-if only for a moment.

"Edward Elric? Isn't he The Fullmetal Alchemist?" gone was the nonchalant, merely curious quality; replaced by a sharper tone.

"Yes, they call him the people's _hero_," she sounded cocky, but inside her heart was beating like a brass drum. "Speaking of which, I really should get back to them. They might start to worry if I'm gone too long."

"Indeed," the lady sniffed. Tammi could feel eyes boring into the back of her skull all the way back to the door, but she just kept walking, looking straight ahead. The youngest Elric didn't stop until she was safely in her seat next to Ed.

The blond, still nose deep in his book, glanced over at his sister. She was pale and sweating slightly.

"Tammi-bear, are you okay?"

"Yes," she said, picking up Mr. Whiskers carrier from the floor and placing it on her lap. For a reason she couldn't explain, she didn't want anyone to know what'd just happened. "And don't call me Tammi-bear," she added simply for the sake of form.

Ed exchanged a look with Al. They both knew Tammi wasn't telling the whole truth, but he decide to leave it be for now. Instead, he smoothed the hair back from her forehead, a small jester Tammi found both familiar and comforting. Edward had never been one to show physical affection, so little things like that meant much more then you'd think.

Sighing with contentment, Tammi drew her legs up, and spent the rest of the afternoon leaning against Ed's side, reading over his shoulder and not caring that she couldn't understand half of it.

**(*.*)**

Just as Edward predicted, the train pulled in to Central's station at eleven o'clock on the dot.

It was the busiest, noisiest place Tammi had ever been to, and it gave her both the feelings of excitement and nervousness. There were so many people, boarding and disembarking, going to and fro, that she was sure she would've gotten lost in two seconds if Ed hadn't firmly clutched her upper arm like he did.

Major Armstrong led the party expertly through the throngs of people until they came to a gap in the crowd where a man and woman were waiting. They identified themselves as Sergeant Danny Brosh and Second Lieutenant Maria Ross, respectively.

It took Tammi a great deal of self-restraint to not burst out laughing when they mistook Alphonse for the Fullmetal Alchemist. It was an honest mistake, and she could see why someone might make it, but Ed's reaction was priceless!

A giggle did escape drawing both their attention away from the youth who was now being physically restrained by Armstrong because Danny had mentioned the great taboo.

They weren't excepting someone else to be there, much less a little girl, but where Maria had the good sense not to show it, Danny did not. His eyes went as wide as dinner plates; he looked from Tammi, to Ed, to Al, before finally resting on Armstrong.

"Who's she?"

Tammi frowned, not liking his tone at all, but before she could even open her mouth, Alphonse stepped forward.

"This is our sister, Tammi. She's going to be staying with us for a while."

"A week," Ed piped up, feeling the need to clarify. He'd stopped trying to behead the Sergeant and was now fishing something out of his pocket. "Listen, we need to-"

"You brought your little sister here? _Now?_" Danny blurted out. "Surprised" was too weak a word to describe the look plastered on his face. _Flabbergasted _was more like it! "We're nowhere close to finding Scar and-"

"Scar?" Tammi asked when the name tumbled from the man's mouth. "Who's Scar?"

Everybody got really, really quiet.

Danny at least had enough sense to appear embarrassed; while Armstrong and Maria's were a mix between mildly uncomfortable and downright awkward. Alphonse shuffled around, digging the point of his toe into the ground. And Edward looked like . . . looked exactly like . . . looked like he'd been. . . .

Like a puzzle, the pieces fell into place in Tammi's mind. It hadn't been "just an accident," that person with the funny name had tried to _hurt_ them! _He_ was the reason they came back all busted up, and . . . . they'd lied to her about.

Maria, gods bless her, tried to break the tension by reminding her partner that the car was running. This snapped the adults back to reality; Ed and Al too after Armstrong almost crushed the blond in a good-bye hug. Tammi, however, hadn't moved and refused to look at anyone. Instead she stared sullenly at the floor, even when Ed put a hand on her shoulder, leaned close to her ear and whispered: "We'll talk later, I promise."

For the first time in memory, Tammi didn't automatically grab hold of his arm as Ed led her out of the building to a waiting car.

**(*.*)**

The ride down to the library wasn't exactly what you'd call pleasant, for any of the parties involved. For one thing, that nice, spiffy, military issued car hadn't been designed to hold five people in the back. Tammi ended up sitting up front with the driver; not that she minded in the least, even if he did smell like fish.

Tammi was the master at what you'd call the "silent treatment." If upset at someone, she could go days without speaking a word to them; and right now she was madder then she'd been in a very long time.

She didn't know if it was because of losing their mother so early, or the product of basically raising themselves, but one of the first promises all three of them had ever made to each other was that they wouldn't keep secrets. Being a rather young child at the time this vow was made, Tammi's own secrets didn't amount to much, but the boys had great, big, wonderful secrets; and Tammi knew then all.

She'd know about the plan to bring back momma, even if she never really understood what it meant. They'd told her about their time on the island, how they'd had to catch, kill, and cook their own food ad the scary masked man that had attacked them; and the even_ tougher_ training that came afterwards.

No secrets. It had been a blood promise, but Ed and Al broke it.

Common sense told her she was being unreasonable, and though she didn't want to admit it, it was right. Still, try telling that to a moody, pouting, eleven year old girl who feels she's been wronged. So she spent the whole journey glowering out the window, and would've continued to do so if the shock of seeing the entire First Branch of The National Central Library burned to the ground hadn't snapped her out of it.

**(*.*)**

Edward was crestfallen. They'd come all this way, hurried back as fast as they could, and the damn place was _burned_ down. Could god really still hate him so much after all these years?

Standing before the ruins, he resisted the urge to scream out loud in pure aggravation! How was he supposed to read Marcoh's notes if they were burnt to a crisp?

Vaguely, he heard Ross saying something about the fire happening a few days ago, and that the arsonist was still at large. The blond decided right then and there that if he ever found out who did this, he'd beat then to within an inch of their pathetic, miserable life!

Inside the main building, the news wasn't much better. There were no record of anything Dr. Marcoh might have published on the Philosopher's Stone; not that it'd matter if there was as it most likely would have gone up in smoke, along with whatever tiny bit of hope Ed had left.

Just as he was about to leave in total despair, one of the assistant librarians piped up about a woman named Sheska, who used to work there.

"If anyone can help you," he chuckled, "it's Sheska. She's the very definition of a bookworm."

Though it sounded promising, Ed wasn't going to hold his breath; he didn't think he could stomach the disappointment if it turned out to be another false lead.

Since Sheska lived so close to the library, it was unanimously decide that they'd walk instead of getting back into that cramped car. On instructions from Maria, the driver was going to go on ahead and check their luggage into a nearby hotel. It miffed Ed a little when Tammi so adamantly insisted on bringing Mr. Whiskers along, but in light of recent events he let it go.

In spite of the circumstances, Edward couldn't help but enjoy the short stroll through the park and along a stretch of water front. It was slightly chilly, but the sun was shining its little heart out, and it seemed like everybody in the city was taking advanced of the good weather. Small children darted happily about under the watchful eyes of their parents. Elderly couples held hands was they traversed down well wore paths, quite content to ignore the younger people racing around them. A group of boys about his age were trying to get a baseball game going, but kept breaking off into arguments over who'd play which position.

It was even having a positive effect on Tammi, he noticed with satisfaction. She'd stopped scowling at the ground and was now swinging her head back and forth, attempting to take everything in at once. A place as large, loud, and busy as Central was a bit of a shock after quiet, slow Resembool; everyone seemed to be in a hurry, and everywhere she looked, something exciting was happening. It was a bit overwhelming, and the brunette moved closer to Ed and reached up with her free hand to take his arm without realizing it; nervousness over riding anger.

Maria had to stifle the unprofessional "_Awwww_" that threatened to escape past her lips. The two looked so cute, clinging to each other like that. Looking over at her partner, she saw that Danny was too preoccupied with ogling at a pretty jogger to take any notice of his surroundings. She sighed. Brosh could be an excellent solder when he wanted to- smart, hard working, and loyal to a fault- but unfortunately he had the attention span of a goldfish.

"They've always been like that," someone said from the Second Lieutenant's left. A little startled, Maria turned to see that it was the other boy, Alphonse, who'd spoken. He was surprisingly quiet for a person wearing a bulky suit of armor, and he moved with a cretin odd grace. If she had to hazard a guess, Ross would say he was trained in some form of martial arts.

"Pardon?"

"Brother and Tammi," Al clarified, gesturing to the two in front. "They've been like that ever since we were little kids." He didn't sound jealous; instead he was simple stating a fact. Perplexed-but she was soon to learn that feeling came naturally when dealing with Elrics- Maria refocuses herself to the task at hand; it was her job to protect these children, not ask questions.

**(*.*)**

Sheska's house was small, but the outside was clean and there was even a little patch of garden that had obviously been tended to with loving care. The inside, however, was much more shocking. Every available surface was covered in books. Fat books, skinny books, old books, new books; books on any subject you can imagine. Tammi guessed that if she spent half a year reading, nonstop, she'd only get through a quarter of the material here.

On any other day her brothers would've been equally impressed, but right now they were concerned with the owner of said books, not the tomes themselves; the owner that seemed not to be home at the moment. Gingerly stepping around mile high stacks that looked ready to fall at the slightest push, everyone crowded into what Tammi assumed to be the living room. If you could even call it a living room-the only lick of furniture was an under stuffed easy chair next to a small side table with a lamp.

She wondered if anyone really _lived_ here; just the thought made her claustrophobia act up. There was something _off_ about this place; something that put everyone on edge. So, it wasn't too surprising that they all jumped when Alphonse suddenly shrieked from the other side of the room.

"Brother, there's a person buried in here!"

There were several moments of frantic activity as everyone tried to move the fallen manuscripts out of the way. Beneath the pile, curled up in a protective ball, was a young, mousey haired woman who quickly identified herself as the Miss Sheska they were looking for.

Ed didn't even stop to introduce himself before asking about the research notes he wanted-something Tammi thought incredibly rude of him-but Sheaka didn't seem to mind, and even offered to copy them down now that the fire destroyed the original texts.

Tammi was impressed. Her own near photographic memory had always been a point of pride with her, but she didn't think she could memorize a whole book word for word; particularly since it looked like Sheska'd probably read over a million of them.

Maria practically had to drag everyone out of the house, and it wasn't until she mentioned lunch that they agreed to leave Sheska to work in peace.

Edward was in high spirits; as was Al. Not only was this was the most promising lead they'd had in years; but, according to Sheska, they'd have almost five whole days with nothing to do but show Tammi around the city. Already he was compiling a list of places he'd take her and people he wanted her to meet.

A small, fond smile swept across his face was he watched younger brother and sister walking side by side, Tammi having to take two steps for every one of Al's. Even though it had been dangerous to bring Tammi along, Ed was glad he did.

_'Finally,' _he thought, jogging to catch up with them,_ 'Things are finally starting to look up.'_

**(*.*)**

You know what I like? Reviews! Could you give me some please?


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